THANK YOU!
Hello all, thanks so much for all your help as ever. If the internet can cope with two pages at once I will try and follow the links to the Surly rings.
I'm currently in a farm house between Shiraz and Yazd in Iran waiting for the owner to come back from tending to his pomegranates. He also happens to be an Iranian Olympic cyclist by all accounts. If you are planning on travelling between Shiraz and Yazd you must come and stay here. More info at
www.batmantorobben.comIn order to update my blog without an internet cafe this is what I have to do:
First. Go and do some stuff. Next remember it, very difficult for my addled brain. Even more difficult, write it down. Then type it up on my laptop.
Then transfer it to my phone because the Freegate program to avoid the filtering will not work with the phone as a modem. Then because my phone does not recognise any other formats I have to save it as .txt file and I Then bluetooth it to my phone because it doesnt like it when i send it via the cable! Then cut and paste it into a special browser i use only for this purpose. Then cut and paste that to another browser which allows me to access Wordpress in Iran. This usually takes ten attempts minimum and loses all the data and I have to go back to the beginning each time. If the internet manages to stay connected for the length of uploading a post...then blimey I manage to update. I'm enjoying Iran but I will look forward to not having to jump through all these hoops. Luckily no such problems accessing this site
THANK YOU!
I've been away from home for nearly a year now and the members of this forum have made that a hell of a lot easier. I must say big thanks to Danneaux especially. I have copied your bottles on the stem idea, your alarm on the seat post idea (never used) and appreciate very much the full and complete answers you've given me to problems along the way. Also to the person who recommended the Mirror solution for my Ergon grips. Sorry, can't remember who it was
My mirror is still going strong and it's still on the wrong side. Fantastic. And of course to every one else who has given me suggestions for solving problems and given me encouragement along the way. THANK YOU!
Although I've only really ridden the bike for a total of about 4 months in the last 12 I will try and write a little bit about what things have been good or bad in that time.
1. My homemade brake bands. Absolutely fantastic. Stole the idea from the click stand website and made them my self. Total cost less than 20p for 2 I think. I use them upwards of a dozen times a day and they still do exactly what they did when I put them on. I don't have a clickstand. I'm now on my second piece of tree, my bamboo got lost and I will be looking to upgrade as soon as I come across the next bamboo seller. Even if you don't have a stand of any sort you simply must get some brake bands. Just leaning against a tree,fence or wall they make such a difference to your life, and for loaded touring they are just the nuts!
2. My Cateye mirrror. I can't remember if the lens and the bracket to hold it on the grips are both made by Cateye??? I've got a feeling the bracket might be Oxford?? Anyway the mirror itself is in a plastic case which incorporates the plastic ball joint that goes into the bracket. Because I lean my bike on the right handlebar and the mirror is still on that side because I'm lazy more than any other reason. The mirror's plastic arm/ball flexes against whatever I lean the bike against. I must do this upwards of a dozen times a day. I turn the bike upside down and the mirror is what the bike rest against on the floor. Still it survives. Whatever they have made it out of is incredible. Its firm enough to keep the mirror in place but flexible enough not to snap. I have been dying to pass on this info as I marvel at it every bloomin' day
3. Danneauxs bottles on the stem idea. Two bottle cages ziptied to your uncut fork steerer. Simple. Lowcost. Genius. Keeps the body at much more of a riding position when trying to drink whilst going up or down a steep hill. LOVE IT. Also everyone asks whats in the bottles for some reason......Vodka & Whisky of course.
4. Ortlieb Rear Packer Bags...tut tut. Can't remember the proper name. Will edit when internet comes back.
I upgraded to these from the PVC roll over type. So much easier to access, the side pockets are fantastic for toolkit essentials for punctures and I always seem to be able to get just a bit more in them if I try really hard. I'm very glad I changed to these.
Downside to this extra room is that they take more stuff and are less aerodynamic and you end up having more weight
5. Topeak large bottle cage. This takes a 1.5l bottle perfectly and although the plastic strap broke I have just repaired it with a piece of tent pole elastic and a curtain hook! Apart from when its really hot and I keep the water in my pannier to keep cool. I use this non stop. Also fits a bottle of wine,champagne or fruit beer perfectly too. All of these have been tested
6&7 Large PVC rear bag. Exped Matress: I chose a Highlander Troone Duffle Drybag rucksack. The rucksack straps came away from the bag quite early on so I can't recommend it from that point of view but the drybag itself was defo the right way to go. It's good for a couple of reasons. A: Its extra room when I want it but packs up smaller when I don't need the extra room therefor causing less drag. B: It's where I keep my tent,mattress, sleeping bag, night clothes, shoes and ground sheet. Because the bag is much bigger than I need. If I need to take down the tent in a gale and the stuff is covered in mud, rain or god knows what else...or if I have to take everything down in a hurry. I can literally just stuff everything into the bag and go. I can then pack it neatly at a later / dryer/ more convenient time. I don't do this very often but its nice to have the option. The thing I use it for most though is my mattress. I have an Exped DLX 10 mattress which is the biggest one. Its probably the heaviest thing in my kit. More than my tent, more than my u-lock. I keep the mattress in the chair kit all the time. This keeps it clean, but it means unless i spend a lot of time deflating it the mattress remains quite large when in the chair kit. Rather than spend ages deflating it. I fold it 4 times and squeeze as much air out as I can and then put it in my 70l drybag. Rather than in its included stuff sack. Then when all my other items go in the dry bag I use the compression straps to squeeze the air out. This another item that puts a smile on my face every time I use it. The matress is also something that is a complete over the top luxury but I wouldn't be without. Whilst obviously its comfortable, the main benefit is that it enables me to sleep in very awkward places, uneven, stony, hills etc. These do however have a ltd life as a quick look at the warmshowers post on this will show you. I'm on my second, replaced for free by exped. Lets hope this one lasts a bit longer.
My bags in general.
Compared to my Liverpool to Istanbul bag setup my new one is perfect. The big bike packers (is that the name) on the back. The 70l drybag lengthways on the back rack. I can hear the gasps, lengthways....nooo. But It enables me access to the rear bags with so much less hassle and just takes a couple of bungees to hold it on. I've tried the other way, but its just too much faffing for me. I'm happy to compromise incredible stability versus ease of access.
Ortlieb front roll tops on the front, just because I already had them. Perhaps if I had the front packers I'd love them too. I keep all my tech in one side and my wash stuff and certain clothes in the other. If I'm invited into someones house for the night and need to leave most of my bike and luggage outside. These are the two that come with me. My rears are for tent/sleeping/food/kitchen/clothing.
And last my bright yellow Ortlieb bar bag. Only yellow because like most of my stuff I try to but second hand but has actually turned out to go really well with the rest of the black stuff on the bike with its black mustache! I don't think this bag is the biggest and when I first got it I was a bit annoyed at how stiff the lid was to open and close around the base. Over time and plenty of heat has loosened this up and its the perfect place for camera, snacks, glasses, notebook etc.
ALL OF THESE HAVE BEEN 100% WATERPROOF
that's all for now. I feel a pomegranate coming on
